[Not Applicable]
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a face coating for a golf club head. More specifically, the present invention relates to a face coating for a golf club head composed of plies of pre-preg material.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the first (if not the first) disclosures of a golf club head composed of a plurality of plies of a pre-preg material is Great Britain Patent Application No. 1201648 which was filed in 1967 on behalf of William Charles Carlton. In 1984, U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,707 issued to Hayashi et al., for a Golf Club Head Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic, based on a Japanese Patent Application originally filed in 1982. The Hayashi Patent discloses surrounding a core with a fiber reinforced fabric to create a golf club head with a proper center of gravity. Another disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,580 to Tomita et al., for a Wood-Type Golf Club Head, based on a Japanese Patent Application originally filed in 1983. The Tomita Patent discloses a durable golf club head having an outer shell composed of a fiber reinforced plastic material, a foam center core, and an intermediate shell formed of a thermoplastic resin material. Yet another disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,826 to Nishigaki et al., for Golf Club Head. The Nishigaki Patent discloses body composed of a carbon resin layer and a cast resin layer with a face insert block composed of a ceramic material. Still another disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 4,778,185 to Kurokawa, for Wood-Type Core-Shell Golf Club Heads, based on a Japanese Patent Application originally filed in 1984. The Kurokawa Patent discloses a golf club head composed of a foam core and a shell composed of a material fiber reinforced plastic having long and short fibers. Yet another disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,616 to Fernandez, for Golf Club. The Fernandez Patent discloses a club head shell composed resin impregnated fibers and ceramic particles within the resin to provide. a high strength shell. Yet another disclosure is U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,425 to Niskanen et al., for a Composite Golf Club Head. The Niskanen Patent discloses a club head composed of a metal matrix composite of a ceramic matrix composite. Although the prior art has disclosed many club head composed of composite materials, the prior art has failed to provide a golf club head composed of a composite material that addresses the durability of the face.
The present invention provides a golf club head that is composed of a composite material and has a textured coating on its striking plate for better durability.
One aspect of the present invention is a composite golf club head having a body composed of a plurality of pre-preg plies having fibers. The body has a sole, a crown, a ribbon and a striking plate portion defining a hollow interior. The striking plate portion has a thickness in the range of 0.010 inch to 0.250 inch. A textured coating is applied to the striking plate portion. The texture coating includes a plurality of polymer resin particles, a medium and a coupling agent. The plurality of polymer resin particles are present in an amount ranging from 5% to 30% of the volume of the texture coating. The textured coating has a thickness of 0.0005 inch to 0.003 inch.
Having briefly described the present invention, the above and further objects, features and advantages thereof will be recognized by those skilled in the pertinent art from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.